nospamgoingjag wrote "My wife made one successful batch of Chardonnay from a
kit and she's
> now growing grapes! > She's asked for a crusher for Christmas. I hate to
> spend big money,
> since there's a good likelyhood this will follow past follies, but I don't
> want to get something that isn't right either."

Sounds like she wants a crusher...not a press. You've had lots of good
advice on the subject. I also grow grapes like your wife and have
accumulated a good assortment of equipment over the years. I make wine from
several hundred pounds of grapes each year. I use a simple hand cranked
grape crusher to break the grape skins. Even for hundreds of pounds of
grapes this is adequate if you make wine as a hobby. Then I destem the
crushed grapes by rubbing them over a 2-mesh ss screen that I've mounted on
a wood frame. For a simple crusher go to piwine.com and check out their
"painted manual cursher ~ $168." This is what I use and it's adequate.

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA